What to know before you renovate: Stories, tips from those who lived through it

Remodeling a home is rather like having children: It's something you want to think about before you do it, so you can be prepared.

On the other hand, sometimes it's best to just take the plunge: You're never fully prepared for the bomb that's about to go off in your house — baby or remodel. And things come up that you couldn't have predicted, anyway.

When Judy and Jon Klem embarked on a kitchen remodel of the Oak Park home they'd lived in since 2004, their single most important concern was to find a designer that understood their needs and wants. With four kids in a classic, Chicago-style bungalow, "having every inch of space be functional was critical for us," Judy Klem said. They could not take on the expense of bumping out the back of the house to enlarge its footprint. But they had wasted space in a home where they desperately needed more. In particular, a counter-height peninsula monopolized their kitchen, creating more of an obstacle than a convenience. Their mudroom was "falling off the back of the house." And the back sun porch was essentially unusable — freezing in the winter, hot in the summer and no access to it except through the French doors in their daughter's bedroom.

"We wanted someone to address the full space, not just put in new cabinets and an island — someone who had a vision for aesthetics plus functionality." What they needed was an intelligent redesign.

The Klems interviewed five or six designers before they found the person they were excited to work with, Tom Bassett-Dilley, an architect who would put a premium on both beauty and efficiency. Their excitement mounted as the new drawings began taking shape, and they felt Bassett-Dilley was truly collaborating with them.

Then, it was time for construction. The family planned to continue living at home, so kitchen appliances were temporarily moved. The stove and dishwasher got hooked up in the basement, next to the washing machine. The fridge went into the living room. "We'd chop vegetables in the dining room, run down to the basement to throw in pasta and a load of laundry," Judy Klem said. Meanwhile, the daughter with the downstairs bedroom was sleeping on the floor of her sister's room upstairs.

Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune

Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune

The Klems were prepared for inconveniences. But here's the part they didn't predict: The kitchen remodel they thought would take three months turned into half a year. Half a year of going down to the basement to make a cup of tea.

To get through the upheaval, the trick for Judy Klem was to stay calm. "My whole mentality was, this end result is going to be rewarding," she said. "I can't let my blood pressure get worked up. It's going to be a disruption for us already, I can't get wrapped into negativity."

But not everyone can call up that measure of equanimity. For mortals with lower boiling points, "it is better if you don't have to live in the house during renovations," Anne Slaughter said. She and her husband, Jed, and their two children lived with her parents while renovating their 1960s Naperville home. They had just purchased the house and knew when they put in their offer that major work lay ahead. The previous owners, it appeared, had done little maintenance or upkeep, but had fostered numerous pets. "I still have a scent memory of how it smelled," Slaughter said.

Still, they loved the house — the lot, the location, the layout, the neighborhood. "We decided we were up for everything this house needed."

It needed a lot. Kitchen, deck, roof including the underlayment. Junction boxes were buried in the walls. Radon was coming up through the basement, which the sellers would not remediate or give them a credit for. Every single surface needed to be stripped, sanded, painted, redone.

Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune

Subway-like tile surrounds counters and splash

Subway-like tile surrounds counters and splash

(Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

And then there were the troubles they didn't see coming. For example, when they went to upgrade their electrical service, they discovered that, contrary to what they'd been told, there was not enough service coming in from the power lines. Upgrading to 200-amp service, which they had been planning to do, would break their budget. "So I guess we'll never put in a hot tub," Slaughter said.

Also unpredicted: miscellaneous yearnings. For example, at one point it occurred to them that it would be nice to have a bigger window by the kitchen sink. Once they realized it, they couldn't do without it. "That was an extra $3,000," Slaughter said.

The idea of buying a beater house raises some interesting questions: How do you know if you're about to get in over your head? At what point do you make yourself walk away?

Michael Massart, of Speaker of the House Property Inspections, has gone through thousands of Chicago-area homes with prospective buyers. He said, "There are two things you can't change about a house: the location. And the foundation." If those things are problems, he said, best avoid the project.

Other things to check before buying a beater: grading — if a house sits low relative to neighboring homes, there can be persistent drainage or basement flooding issues. And be sure to learn whether the home has asbestos, lead paint, a fuel oil tank or termite issues.

Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune

Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune

For the Slaughters, the hassles and headaches were ultimately worth it. "It's an incredible transformation," Anne Slaughter said. "It's like a different house. We love living here, our kids love it. And I'm just happy people are walking on our side of the street again."

The Klems feel the same. "For 10 years we sat around that peninsula with our knees twisted sideways," Judy Klem said. "Now our busy house has a fully functional, beautiful kitchen, with a new mini-office that overlooks the yard. The kitchen has become the center of our home. The kids sit at the island while we cook and do projects. It's not a massive space, but, boy, is it functional."

1. Thou shalt not buy a house that isn't plumb. "People have brought me to see a two-story frame house where the second floor is leaning so badly it's almost touching the roof of the neighboring building. That's basically impossible to fix." (Massart)

2. Thou shalt budget 20 percent more than what you thought you needed. "You want to have the leeway to flex your budget. Things are going to come up. There will be things you're going to want to add." (Slaughter)

3. Thou shalt make a similar allowance for your timeline. "Ours ended up taking many months longer than we anticipated." (Klem)

4. Thou shalt hire a consultant who can check the contractor's work. "It would be wise to have an architect independent of the general contractor draw the plans. … A few weeks ago at a home in Bowmanville, my assistant filled and activated the whirlpool tub — only for the water to leak through the first floor and to the basement. … That would never have happened if someone had checked the knuckleheads who did the work." (Massart)

5. Thou shalt counsel thyself to take a chill pill. "You know it's going to be disruptive, it's going to take more time and money, but you have to go into it managing your expectations. Having an even-keeled disposition will help you get through the long haul." (Klem)

A version of this article appeared in print on July 03, 2016, in the Real Estate section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Remodels deconstructed - From a new kitchen in Oak Park to a whole-house project in Naperville, homeowners who have been through ups, downs of renovating share tips" —
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